This invention relates in general to an electronic display apparatus, and in particular to an electronic diary having combined time of day TOD clock means and diary storage means for storage and readout of preselected daily schedule and message events in coordination with preselected TOD comparisons.
The recent advances in the field of electronic manufacturing and packaging have brought to the consumer market a variety of electronic apparatus not heretofore economically or technically feasible for use by the average consumer. Most of these products are electronic solid state counterparts to well known electromechanical devices, and examples of such widely marketed products include consumer adapted electronic calculators, solid state watches, electronic calendars, clock radios, and so on. The application of solid state circuitry provides a device of smaller compact size, increased reliability, reduced overall weight and may provide cost advantages in some instances. Further, these various devices have been combined for market attractiveness into such combinations as clock and calculator, radio and clock, and clock and calendar units.
It is thought that the calculator industry has largely taken one direction in these improvement features being offered, that is, to provide more and more variations in calculation methods such as now offered on multifunction calculators. The extension of calculators with their readily accessible keyboards and digital displays, into non-calculating functions particularly applicable to consumer uses has not been as well explored. In the present invention, it is shown to be highly desirable to convert for electronic application the largely manual techniques of formulating and maintaining daily schedules of appointments and other important event occurrences that comprise the average work day of a consumer. At the same time, it is felt that the keyboard and display apparatus of most electronic calculators could be judiciously employed to provide storage and visual readout of selected messages from a programmed daily event memory schedule.
Accordingly, the disclosed electronic diary is comprised of message storage and control means and a clock and calendar unit incorporated as ancillary features into an electronic calculator. The electronic diary stores preselected message samples through the use of the keyboard input and coordinates the readout of such message samples with the clock and calendar unit. Additionally, there can be provided an audible alarm at an appropriate message time as through a buzzer or other suitable sounding device while simultaneously displaying the associated message sample. It is to be appreciated that such an electronic diary does not require combined use with an electronic calculator but such a product combination is thought to be exceedingly appealing to the consumer.